Detergent and other cleaning compositions typically include a complex combination of active ingredients. For example, most cleaning products include a surfactant system, enzymes for cleaning, bleaching agents, builders, suds suppressors, soil-suspending agents, soil-release agents, optical brighteners, softening agents, dispersants, dye transfer inhibition compounds, abrasives, bactericides, and perfumes.
Thus, given the wide variety of combinations of components present in cleaning compositions, proteins used in industrial and commercial applications are of increasing prevalence. As a result, the increased exposure due to this prevalence has been responsible for some safety hazards caused by the sensitization of certain persons to those proteins, whereupon subsequent exposure causes extreme allergic reactions which can be injurious and even fatal. For example, proteases are known to cause dangerous hypersensitivity in some individuals. As a result, despite the usefulness of proteases in industry (e.g., in laundry detergents, cosmetics, textile treatment etc.), and the extensive research performed in the field to provide improved proteases which have improved performance (e.g., more effective stain removal under desired detergency conditions), the use of proteases in industry has been problematic due to their ability to produce a hypersensitive immune response in some humans.
Much work has been done to alleviate these problems. Among the strategies explored to reduce immunogenic potential of protease use have been improved production processes which reduce potential contact by controlling and minimizing workplace concentrations of dust particles or aerosol carrying airborne protease, improved granulation processes which reduce the amount of dust or aerosol actually produced from the protease product, and improved recovery processes to reduce the level of potentially allergenic contaminants in the final product. However, efforts to reduce the allergenicity of proteases, per se, have been relatively unsuccessful. Alternatively, efforts have been made to mask epitopes in protease which are recognized by immunoglobulin E (IgE) in hypersensitive individuals (See e.g., WO 92/10755) or to enlarge or change the nature of the antigenic determinants by attaching polymers or peptides/proteins to the problematic protease.
However, strategies that involve modifying IgE sites have generally not been successful in preventing the cause of the initial sensitization reaction. Accordingly, such strategies, while perhaps neutralizing or reducing the severity of the subsequent hypersensitivity reaction, do not reduce the number or persons actually sensitized. For example, when a person is known to be hypersensitive to a certain antigen, the general, and only safe, manner of dealing with such a situation is to isolate the hypersensitive person from the antigen as completely as possible. Indeed, any other course of action would be dangerous to the health of the hypersensitive individual. Thus, while reducing the danger of a specific protein for a hypersensitive individual is important, for industrial purposes it would be far more valuable to render a protein incapable of initiating the hypersensitivity reaction in the first place.
The prior art has provided methods of reducing the allergenicity of certain proteins and identification of epitopes which cause allergic reactions in some individuals, the assays used to identify these epitopes generally involving measurement of IgE and IgG antibody in blood sera previously exposed to the antigen. However, once an Ig reaction has been initiated, sensitization has already occurred. Accordingly, there is a need for a method of determining epitopes which cause sensitization in the first place, as neutralization of these epitopes will result in significantly less possibility for sensitization to occur, thus reducing the possibility of initial sensitization.
In addition, despite improvements in the capabilities of cleaning compositions, there remains a need in the art for detergents having enzymes with reduced immunogenicity, but are effective in removing stains, maintaining fabric color and appearance, and preventing dye transfer. In addition, there remains a need for detergent and/or fabric care compositions that provide and/or restore tensile strength, as well as provide anti-wrinkle, anti-bobbling, and/or anti-shrinkage properties to fabrics, as well as provide static control, fabric softness, maintenance of the desired color appearance, and fabric anti-wear properties and benefits. In particular, there remains a need for the inclusion of compositions that are capable of removing the colored components of stains, which often remain attached to the fabric being laundered. In addition, there remains a need for improved methods and compositions suitable for textile bleaching, as well as methods and compositions for bleaching in the pulp and paper industry.
Bleaching is also commonly used in the personal care market (e.g., dental whiteners, hair bleachers, etc.). Although personal care bleaching products have improved over the years, there remains a need for mild, easy to use, cost-effective bleaching methods for this setting, particularly those that utilize hypoallergenic constituents.